The appeal of target-date funds is obvious. Decide when you'll need your money back, and the fund invests accordingly: aggressively at first, more conservatively as the "target" approaches. But it's not so simple: Different funds can give you dramatically different performance.

In recent years, with low interest rates devastating the returns on conservative investment options, income-hungry investors have turned more and more to dividend stocks. And had there not been a fiscal cliff deal, even that last refuge for income investors could have disappeared.

For the winners of the $500 million Powerball jackpot, past winners of mega-lottery drawings have some sound financial advice: Stick to a budget, invest wisely, learn to say no and be prepared to lose friends while riding an emotional roller-coaster of joy, anxiety, guilt and distrust.

A couple of years ago, billionaire super-investor Warren Buffett told Congress a "terrible problem" with U.S. municipal bonds was on the horizon. Now, Buffett is back, and warning that the crisis is closer than ever.

Right now, there's probably one of two very different devils sitting on your shoulder, whispering in your ear. And it's dictating your every financial move -- either paralyzing you or compelling you to overreact.

Get ready to play the retirement game even more cautiously: The common wisdom that a 4% annual withdrawal rate is the safe way to avoid outliving your money is increasingly coming under fire. In fact, it may well become a thing of the past.

With all the volatility in the stock market today, some individual investors are wondering if they should be more active with a portion of their portfolio, or back away from equities entirely. But if you bail out of stocks, where can you find decent returns? DailyFinance's Laura Rowley talks with Stuart Ritter, financial planner with T. Rowe Price.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Gail's husband went to work at the World Trade Center. He never came home again.
During the blur of grief, the stay-at-home mom realized she was now her family's CFO. Today, she's a bona fide investor, but getting to that point meant traveling a long, challenging road.

Given the uncertain prospects of the U.S. economic recovery, its not surprising that many investors are reluctant to pour more money into stocks this spring. One lower-risk way to invest is to buy stocks that also pay decent dividends. Here are three options in the energy sector:

Hoping to add some safety against inflation to their portfolios, many folks have been investing in Treasury inflation-protected securities -- TIPS. So now that inflation is on the horizon, they should be sitting pretty, right? Unfortunately not. Here's why.